Africa Moments

There are three distinct types of Africa Moments.

1. The How Did I Get Here Moment: You’re sitting in the back of a chapa, the wind is whipping your hair, and you’re thinking, how did I end up here? You start to reflect on your life, you want to ponder deep questions, meanwhile a chicken is sitting on your foot and there’s a large breast staring at you; its owner hasn’t put it back yet after the baby drank its fill. It’s a moment when you suddenly feel nostalgic for the present. 

2. The Volunteer Embarrassing Story Exchange Moment: You’re talking with other volunteers about the time you missed the hole in the pit latrine, or had such bad stomach problems that you pooped in your pants, and everyone sighs and shakes their head and says, “oh, Mozambique” or “oh, Peace Corps,” because they know it’s happened to them too, even if they don’t want to admit it.

3. The Improvise with What You’ve Got Moment: You’re helping your neighbor extend the power line from the street to their house by just exposing the wires and wrapping another wire around it. One Mozambican looks at the rickety and illegal set-up – which sometimes even includes vines - and turns to another and says, sometimes, in English, “This is Africa.”